


as brilliantly as you

by oathsworn (onelastchence)



Category: League of Legends RPF
Genre: M/M, i heard every fandom needs one of these, so i wrote one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-04 11:33:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10990074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onelastchence/pseuds/oathsworn
Summary: The five times Jaewan dies to save Junsik's life & the one time he (kinda) doesn't.





	as brilliantly as you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sightstone (symmetrophobic)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/symmetrophobic/gifts).



> IT'S MY SHITTY SUPPORT'S BIRTHDAY YAAAYYY!! Are we still PraY and GorillA? I'm not sure. Are we? Tell me. But here's to many, many more years of me yelling at you about whatever fandom we may be in at that point in time.
> 
> A big, big thank you to Reiru, who helped me beta last minute! Literally. Last minute. Don't procrastinate, kids.
> 
> title taken from 25 Lives: I'll never burn as brilliantly as you. It's only fair that I should be the one to chase you across ten, twenty five, a hundred lifetimes until I find the one where you'll return to me.

**i.**

 

“My prince, you need to go,” Zaiwan urges, pushing him to leave. Junzhi is stubborn, that much Zaiwan knows, but he’s equally so. “They’re here for _you_ , not for me. I’ll be fine.”

 

“No,” Junzhi frowns, shaking off his guards’ grips. “I’m not leaving with you. You’re my consort, damn it, I’m taking you with me.”

 

Zaiwan sighs and walks towards the prince. Ever since he had been taken in by the palace as an orphan, Junzhi had taken a liking to him, and vice versa. He knew all that there was to know about the Crown Prince, perhaps even more than the prince knew of himself. There was a stubborn streak in him, one that refused to back down.

 

“Look,” Zaiwan attempts to reason. “They won’t kill me. You know that. They’re not after me, they’re here to kill _you_ . They want the throne. You _half brother_ wants the throne. What are they going to do to me?”

 

“They could torture you,” Junzhi almost shouts. “They could _hurt_ you for information on where I am. Do you think I would be able to live with myself if I knew that you were getting hurt, getting _tortured_ because of me?”

 

“You underestimate my pain tolerance,” Zaiwan replies. He takes Junzhi’s hands in his own and squeezes them lightly. “Nothing will happen to me, okay? You need to get out of here first. The guards will bring you somewhere safe and then they’ll come back for me. That was the plan, remember?”

 

“We planned it before they somehow managed to _barge into the palace_!” Junzhi shouts. “Look, Zaiwan-”

 

He falls silent then, slumping down as he’s knocked unconscious by a few quick jabs into his _chii_ pressure points. Zaiwan looks at the guard, who gives him a nod. He sighs and kneels down to press a kiss to his forehead. “I’m sorry for lying,” He whispers. “But I promised your father this when he first took me in as your political decoy.”

 

Zaiwan takes one last look at Junzhi’s prone body then turns his back to him. The guards take this as their signal to carry their prince away to safety. Zaiwan lets the servants dress him up in Junzhi’s clothes then climbs into bed.

 

“I’m sorry you had to get dragged into this, Wanghao,” Zaiwan whispers to the person beside him. “There was never supposed to be more than one death in this situation.”

 

Wanghao smiles at him, then shakes his head. “Shanjiu and I already took care of everything that we had to. It is an honour to protect our prince.”

 

“Still,” Zaiwan shakes his head. “If Junzhi and I had just stayed friends, if they didn’t have the information that there would be two people in this bed, you could’ve left. This is _my_ responsibility.”

 

Wanghao sighs and jabs the prince’s consort. “Let’s just play our part. Keeping the prince safe is most important right now. It doesn’t matter, after all,” He says, smiling. “Shanjiu and I promised to meet each other in our next life.”

 

Zaiwan closes his eyes then, reassured, and pretends to sleep. The shouting gets louder and louder as the rebels get closer and closer, and when the doors are kicked open, he tightens his arms around the shivering Wanghao and accepts his fate.

 

**ii.**

 

“Please!” A woman screams. “Please, help me!”

 

“Captain Lee!” His platoon calls him. “Captain, there’s still a child trapped inside the building!”

 

His eyes widen and he quickly turns to the woman. “Where’s your child, ma’am?” He asks, hurried.

 

“T-Third floor, third floor, please, _please_ save my daughter-!”

 

He looks at the building, engulfed in flames and starting to collapse. His eyes dart to the distressed mother screaming for her child and steels himself. This is his job. He has to save the child. Even if he can’t, he needs to at least _try_.

 

“Make sure everyone gets out safely,” He barks to his second in charge. “Lieutenant Heo, continue to try to put out the fire.”

 

“But Captain, the pressure and weight of the water might make the building collapse even faster!”

 

“If I can’t make it out that won’t change much, Lieutenant. Follow your orders. Other than that, you’re in charge of the platoon until I return.”

 

He dashes into the building, shrinking back slightly at the wall of heat that hits him immediately. The woman’s apartment was on the third floor. He looks around for the stairs, already starting to catch fire, and dashes up. He finds the correct apartment after ransacking through 2 other apartments, running into the room from where the crying is coming from.

 

“Help!” The girl cries. “Mama, mama, help!”

 

He rushes forward, dodging the fallen beams to grab her from the corner of the room. She’s crying, almost choking on the smoke. He removes his gas mask and straps it onto her face, allowing her to breathe properly.

 

“Hey,” He calls, moving out of the apartment. It’s difficult, and the building is coming down a lot faster than he had expected. “Hey, shh, look, we’re going to get out of here, okay? I’m going to get us out. You need to be brave, got it?”

 

She sniffles, choking on her tears, and he wipes her tears away. He scans their surroundings; the entry way he had used to enter is now blocked, the flames creeping ever higher. Noticing the window that leads to the corridor, he puts the girl down somewhere safe and forces it open.

 

“Come on, look, say _bang_!” He says, shooting a finger gun with her in his other arm. “We’ll get out of here if you be brave and help me create openings, okay?”

 

She nods, her tears subsiding. She’s a brave child, using both hands to ‘shoot’, and it’s a good distraction for her but also helps him find ways to get out. He stumbles out of the apartment building, sweaty and exhausted, but the girl in his arms is safe. He removes the gas mask from her face and hands her over to the paramedics, her mother rushing over and bowing profusely in thanks.

 

“It’s nothing, really,” He pants. “Get- Get her to the hospital.”

 

“Captain!” Lieutenant Heo says after the mother speeds off. “You should get yourself checked, too. You gave your gas mask to the little girl, you probably inhaled a lot of smoke.”

 

“I’ll be fine,” He says, waving his lieutenant off. “It’s fine.”

 

* * *

 

“Where’s uncle?” She demands. “Uncle saved me!”

 

Her mother looks at her, then shakes her head. She climbs out of the bed, wincing from her minor injuries. If her mother won’t tell her where the brave uncle was, she’ll go look for him herself!

 

“Darling, he-”

 

“I’m going to look for him, mama!”

 

Her mother sighs, then picks her up. “I’ll bring you to see him, okay? But you must promise me that you’ll be very, very brave.”

 

“I will, mama! I will be as brave as uncle!”

 

She sings and shoots finger guns at the nurses who pass by, smiling and shooting finger guns back at her. “Bang, bang~”

 

Her mother puts her down outside a room and she beams up at her, missing one tooth. Her mother gives her a smile that’s infinitely sad and pushes the door open for her. She frowns at her mother’s expression and rushes in only to see a body covered in a white sheet.

 

“M-Mama?” She asks, afraid.

 

“You promised to be brave, darling,” Her mother says.

 

Her lips tremble as she climbs up the chair beside the bed. She pulls back the sheet to reveal the man who saved her and she cries.

 

“I’ll be brave from now on, uncle,” She sobs, shooting finger guns. “Bang, bang, like you taught me.”

 

_Cause of death: Chemical Asphyxiation_

 

**iii.**

 

The war is nothing but a waste of time, Wolf thinks. He has to fight because otherwise his entire family would be put in jeopardy. It’s either he fight alongside the rebels or they be branded as traitors. He doesn’t want to fight in this war. All it’s done is get people killed to no avail.

 

He’s been put in charge of taking care of the civilians, one amongst many. The military are no strangers to brutality and violence and would not hesitate in taking the civilians as prisoners of war. It sickens him, but he supposes that’s what the rebels are fighting for. Freedom from the people who would even think of doing such a thing.

 

“Why are you here when the others are out there fighting?”

 

He turns around to see a boy slightly younger than he is, perhaps. Those above 16 had been drafted into the rebellion, those under had been left at home to take care of their families. They’re still considered children. At least, Wolf thinks, until enough people die on the front lines that they need to recruit even the youngest of children.

 

“I’m not old enough to fight yet,” Wolf says. “Those just of age like me are told to protect the civilians in case anything happens.”

 

“I think you’re a coward,” The boy sneers. “Hiding in here with the rest of us when other people are dying out there.”

 

Wolf rolls his eyes. He’s got better things to think about than the opinions of a child. “Whatever you say, child,” He replies offhandedly.

 

“I’m not a _child_!” The boy retorts, vehement.

 

“No?” Wolf asks, using the boy’s words against him. “Then why are you here, sitting with your family, when other people are dying out there?”

 

“I-”

 

“Because you’re a child. And children do not fight in wars. Wars are not fun and games, boy. You would do better to learn how to keep your mouth shut. Attitudes such as yours are not easily forgiven by superiors.”

 

There’s a shout in the distance, and the ground rumbles. Wolf frowns, standing up and moving to the door, signalling for the family behind him to stay put. He opens it and steps out, staggering backwards when he sees house after house go up in flames, explosion after explosion go off. There’s a clink and something rolls towards him and comes to a stop at his feet.

 

His eyes widen and he throws himself over the grenade, yelling for the boy to get his family to safety. There’s a burst of pain before-

 

 _Nothing_.

 

**iv.**

 

“Master!”

 

“Get out of the way, human!”

 

They carry her Master in, face pale, even paler than usual. She wants to move closer to him, but the guards hold her back, pulling her away from him. “Let me go!” She fights against their grips. “Let me go, can’t you see he needs blood?”

 

“If you go to him right now, you’ll die.”

 

Jae turns to look at her right hand man, the one who stood beside her no matter what, who cared more for her safety than anyone else - except her Master, of course. “What? Why?”

 

Haneul pauses, as though unsure if he should tell her, then decides to just bite the bullet and get on with it. “Master has lost too much of his strength in the battle. If you go near him now while he’s thirsty, he’ll drain you of all your blood and there’s no way that you’ll manage to survive it.”

 

“But if I _don’t_ , then _he_ dies, doesn’t he?”

 

Haneul doesn’t say anything, and she fights against his grip harder. “Let go of me!”

 

“Jae, please, you know Master wouldn’t want you to get hurt-”

 

“And you know I can’t let him die!” She shouts, voice hoarse. Her eyes are wild with panic, and her hair is in disarray. Haneul’s never seen his charge like this, only ever seen her prim and proper, the perfect Proxy for their Master, or relaxed and mischievous, the perfect companion for their lonely Master.

 

He cannot bear to imagine life without Jae in the manor. His Master had been alone for so, so long before she had come along. With her, Jae had brought life into the manor, into their Master. He doesn’t want to know what it would be like to return to the cold household that the Master’s house had been before she had arrived.

 

But as time went, there were no blood sources. No other Proxy was willing to sacrifice their life to save the Master. It made sense, though. None of them were _his_ Proxy, and could continue to live even if the Master died. Haneul got more and more worried as the minutes ticked by, and, unconsciously, his grip on Jae started to relax.

 

She bursts out of his grip the moment she has a chance, and Haneul jolts to attention only to realize she was already in range of their Master’s weakened body. Their Master surges up, eyes red, unfeeling, unseeing. He doesn’t recognize her, only senses the blood that’s running through her veins, keeping her alive.

 

He can feel her fear.

 

He wants to rush forward, wants to save her, wants to tear Jae away from their Master, but he knows he can’t because it’s already too late. In such a state, no one can tear her away from their Master without dying themselves, and there’s been enough bloodshed.

 

He closes his eyes and pretends that he cannot hear the sound of Jae screaming in pain fading into silence.

 

**v.**

 

“We’re surrounded.”

 

“How the fuck do we get out of here?”

 

They look at the zombies around them, inching forward step by step. Stephan backs into Faker, his baseball bat at the ready. He doesn’t think that it’ll do much alongside Faker’s rusty pipe he’d managed to grab off the ground.

 

“Nice knowing you I guess?” Stephan says, swallowing. He swings his bat when one of the zombies reaches out a little too close to him. He’s panting hard, eyes darting from place to place in an attempt to find an escape route but coming up with nothing. “What’s your real name?”

 

“We’re going to die and you want to know my real name?” Faker asks, incredulous.

 

Stephan snorts. “We might as well have given ourselves posthumous names with this Stephan and Faker business. What’s wrong with knowing the name of the person I spent a couple of weeks with trying to survive this horde of flesh eating monsters?”

 

They’re close, they’re so, _so_ close, and Stephan _really_ doesn’t want to die here.

 

And then the zombies disperse.

 

There’s someone screaming.

 

Stephan ducks down when he sees the flare of bullets, dragging Faker down with him. “Is that a fucking gun?” Faker whispers. “Who the fuck has a gun in Korea?”

 

“How should I know?” Stephan retorts. They keep as silent as they can as the horde moves towards the source of the sound, converging as a huge pack onto the person. There’s more gunshots, more flares of bullets, and soon the horde has stumbled so far forward, so far away from them that there’s a way out.

 

They count to three silently and sprint. They run away from the horde, directly towards the left, into the forests. Stephan turns his head at the very last moment to see who had screamed, who had saved them. He meets a pair of eyes that he’s sure he’s never seen before but are so _familiar_ -

 

**i.**

 

“My penta!” Junsik wails, turning to glare at Jaewan. “My penta, you should’ve kept me alive for my penta!”

 

Jaewan rolls his eyes, used to dealing with Junsik and his petty tempers when it came to his kills in game. “Maybe next time _don’t_ Arcane Shift aggressively into the extremely fed Zed as an Ezreal?”

 

Junsik refuses to shut up about it throughout the game, and Jaewan manages to help Junsik secure his Pentakill by flashing forward and sacrificing himself as bait. Junsik cheers beside him, auto attacking the Nexus and hollering about his Pentakill like an idiot.

 

“I got a Penta, I got a Penta~” He singsongs, and a part of Jaewan wants to slap some sense into the idiot that he calls his AD Carry.

 

He sighs softly instead, shaking his head fondly. Junsik may be an idiot AD Carry, but well, he’s the AD Carry that Jaewan’s chosen to play with for more than 3 years, for more than 5000 games.

 

He knows he’ll have to die a lot more in future to save Junsik’s sorry ass, but when he opens his spreadsheet and logs yet _another_ death due to Junsik’s recklessness in game - he’s up to 1682 logged kills in his spreadsheet - he knows that he’ll continue to do it, anyways.

**Author's Note:**

> [Behind every great AD Carry is a long suffering support.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB_yC5kA8Vo&t=33m57s) [Literally.](http://img.cdn.ved.com.vn/web/lmht360/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/bang-wolf-skt.jpg)


End file.
